FROM THE DESKS OF JAMES KEVIN SHELTON AND CHRISTOPHER KING, J.D.

jameskshelton@yahoo.com
kingcast955@icloud.com

June 15, 2022

Re: Force-Placed Black Mentors – Demand for Investigation of Jim Buchanan

and RCW §42.56 Demand for Production of Related Records.

For reference please review the attachment which is a copy of my Federal filing yesterday.

My friends and I have been made into people who are “yelling and loud and unprofessional” and for Mr.
King, “disbarred, dangerous and foolish” and more. Those are the words of Paula Sardinas, the only
lobbyist to get a BIPOC-owned operation a license (2 of them) that was reportedly sold for $2.1M to a
Chinese concern.

But as I said yesterday before I got ready to send my Subpoena to Peter Manning this morning (ABC
Legal REF-10246959) for other information he claimed to have showing collusion between WSLCB and
local police against Black-owned Dispensaries and Black neighborhoods we have to focus on the
business practices and company of Paula Sardinas:

We are dealing with a lobbyist who lobbied on behalf of someone that a BEiC and Emerald Co-Founder
clearly labeled as a bad person, one who had embezzled money and who was subject to major monetary
judgments from another partner clearly see at the attachment including copies of text messages to Mr.
King. The same Mr. King who was suspended for a year and never disbarred mind you. Ms. Sardinas
never issued a written retraction but instead lied about the Defamation.

All roads lead to Ollie Garrett & the black community leaders. Why is the $2 million
Black Excellence in Cannabis deal being kept quiet?

This should be a huge win for the black community & social equity but there is no media
coverage whatsoever. Why? Is it because the WS/LCB has been slow-walking the black
community for years while they make secret deals to hand-picked blacks who they can
force deals & business partners on, the same way they attempted to do with myself &
LIFETREE Inc., Hence the call I received from Peter at Black Excellence in Cannabis
about a month ago asking me to write an apology letter to Ollie Garrett and take back
everything I said about her & the Nate Miles scam and I would have a better chance at
getting a license because he vetted my case, Peter said those are the steps I needed to
take before I could join Black Excellence in Cannabis. Foul…

Mr. King is a professionally-trained journalist who issued what is known as a Fair Report.
His source is obviously objectively reasonable as he is a founding member of BEiC, the very organization
that Paula Sardinas kept referring us to and bragging about.
 FROM THE DESKS OF JAMES KEVIN SHELTON AND CHRISTOPHER KING, J.D.
jameskshelton@yahoo.com
kingcast955@icloud.com

Therefore the WSLCB cannot continue to trot out one member of BEiC/Emerald Haze when they have
nothing to discount the other partners; you have to give them equal consideration and now you have to
demand that Mr. Barfield speak to his Truth because if he is not lying – and Mr. King and I both trust him
much more than anyone else – then Jim Buchanan and any monies he or his cronies get in this so-called
equity program needs to be refunded because he is, as Mr. Barfield stated:

*The worst partner [he has] ever had

*Backstabber
*Embezzler
*Successfully sued by other partner

And Mr. King has provided all of you with more emails between himself and BEiC staff and others who
all contributed to the BEiC cause. Please see these two videos:

https://youtu.be/_HP_FzBx9Ls
Messrs. Shelton and King Demand that Jay Inslee & WSLCB Investigate Jim Buchanan on
Corruption

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUHPahv9exI&t
Black Excellence in Cannabis Blasts WSLCB & Seattle Cannabis Racism with Chris King and Friends, shot
with two leading members of BEiC and Emerald Haze, one of several meetings King, John Novak and
others had with them.

**********

WHERERFORE: Please provide us any and all documents evincing whether or not anyone at WSLCB was
aware of the issues clearly contemplated by Mr. Aaron Barfield seen in my filing from yesterday, along
with any and all documents evincing the negotiations and production of the two (2) licenses issued to
BEiC and/or Emerald Haze companies in which Jim Buchanan is a member, partner or owner. Mr. King
has already asked for these documents but as to be expected WSLCB is slow walking him too.

Respectfully submitted,

________________________
James Kevin Shelton

________________________
Christopher King, J.D.
 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
2 AT TACOMA
3
KEVIN S. SHELTON )
4 BEN SHELTON, III
SAMI SAAD
5 ) CASE NO. 3:22-cv-05135-BHS
Plaintiffs,
6
) JUDGE BENJAMIN H. SETTLE
7
vs.
8 )
LIQUOR AND CANNABIS BOARD
9 OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON “LCB”
and )
10 RICK GARZA, DIRECTOR OF LCB,
)
11 In his Individual and Official Capacities,

12 Defendants. )
13 PLAINTIFFS’ SECOND INSTANTER SUPPLEMENTAL
NOTICE OF NEWLY-ACQUIRED EVIDENCE
14 CONTRA STAY OF DISCOVERY:
FORCED PLACEMENT OF BUSINESS PARTNERS
15
FOR BLACK-OWNED STAKEHOLDERS
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NOW COME PLAINTIFFS to provide the following update in clear, concise fashion that provides
17 indisputable reasons to deny not only the requested Stay, but the pending Rule 12(b)(6) and subsequent
18 Rule 56 Motions as well. The following is hereby stated as if on Oath and Subject to the Pains and
Penalties of Perjury, same as the other multiple Declarations on file with the Court.1
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1. We are tired of being attacked and having Mr. King be attacked for saying that Nate Miles
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was attempting to exploit us and that Paula Sardinas does special favors only for her buddies
21 even though her LinkedIn page [used to read] “I am for equity because equity starts with
22 everyone.
2. After being attacked in last week’s WSLCB public comment section Mr. King eloquently
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addressed his detractors, noting that nobody can seem to get any information about
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a) What happened to my equity application and the Green Return Envelope in 2020
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Nate Miles has not filed any Declarations. Counsel for Nate Miles, after threatening litigation a month ago, have left
28 the building after being challenged to file and given an invitation to negotiate. I have seen all of this.

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 1 b) What happened to my attempts through Counsel to obtain equity or any other license in

2 2020 into 20212

c) Emerald Haze path to licensure
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d) Protocol when receiving BIPOC applications:
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https://cannabis.observer/observations/wslcb-board-meeting-june-8-2022-summary/
5 (audio - 4m, WSLCB Video, TVW video)

6 a. King responded to Manning’s assertions, saying the soundbites at issue

were “from [Manning’s] living room” where King and others met “a
7 number of times to work on cases.” He asserted that he’d been “single
handedly responsible for getting two wrongful prosecution cases of the LCB
8 dismissed,” naming Levi Lyon of LyonPride Music and “budtender Cynjo
Raylene Hall.” King said the “fact” was that Manning only had “beef” with him
9 once King “exposed the whole thing with NateGate.” He continued by saying
he’d “never attacked Ollie Garrett" and that he and Postman were “fourth
10 estate brothers” owing to their shared work history in journalism, hoping
11 Postman would understand King’s seeking public information “I’m entitled
to.”
12 b. King remarked there was a “certified mail envelope that Kevin Shelton
sent out” in 2020. He said Shelton—the former LifeTree Collective Garden
13 Owner—-had “declarations he’s filed in federal court” about favorable
treatment for Chris Bennett and Nate Miles, acquaintances of Garrett’s.
14 Having raised the topic of materials mailed to Garrett on May 11th, King
followed up to say he’d received no information about how such
15 correspondence was handled.
c. He’d also been seeking more information on “how Emerald Haze got
16 their license” and wouldn’t “tolerate anybody trying to say that’s an attack
because it’s not, it’s a request for information.”
17 i. Aaron Barfield, BEC founder, discussed his involvement in support of
licensing for Emerald Haze with WSLCB officials in October 2019.
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d. Turning to the 2015 law merging the adult-use and medical markets, King
19 stated that it had “placed an affirmative, nondelegable duty” on the agency
for a “fair, merit-based” application process for licensing - which he felt “still
20 hasn’t happened.” Hoping for responses to his prior questions and
requests, he noted that Garrett was also “associated” with former WA
21 SECTF Co-Chair Paula Sardinas, whom he claimed called him “a
disbarred attorney” and “dangerous.” King added that when he told
22 Sardinas he “drafted [a] lawsuit for defamation” about her accusations, she’d
contacted former dispensary owner Sami Saad “to get him away from us.”
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24 3. It is a fact that prior to Paula Sardinas successful lobbying efforts at WSLCB in 2020
25 Peter Manning, Aaron Barfield, John Novak, Christopher King, J.D. and other
members of the cannabis community all worked together and brainstormed not only
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on the Black Excellence in Cannabis/Emerald Haze litigation, but on the litigation that
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Lifetree former Attorney Michael S. Reid is signing an Affidavit tomorrow relative to his observations.

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 1 Messrs. King and Novak were helping Hempfest Entertainment Director Levi Lyon
2 and Budtender Cynjo Raylene Hall get their fake criminal cases dismissed.

3 4. Mr. Lyon and LyonPride Music in fact will be hosting an International podcast
discussing all matters pertaining to cannabis in Washington and beyond
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5. Paula Sardinas is a very public figure who is a lobbyist for Eli Lilly where Nate Miles
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is a VP.
6 6. Paula Sardinas is a member of Tabor100 where Ollie Garrett is President.
7 7. Miles, Sardinas and Garrett and Jim Buchanan are all part of a clique that none of us
8 are involved in.

9 8. Now that Paula Sardinas is attempting to silence Mr. King and send him to jail for
Cyberstalking3 he has released crucial information straight from an owner at Emerald
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Haze that parallels our experience with a FPBM (Forced-Placed Black Mentor just
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like illegal Force-Placed Homeowners’ Insurance).
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9. Contrary to naked allegations that we have been attacking people, we have been
13 holding back, hoping these people would stop telling lies but they have not so here it
14 is: Jim Buchanan is an unwanted FPBM at Emerald Haze and he is the “worst partner
15 ever had” who allegedly was sued in Arbitration by another partner after embezzling
money (over $1.3M) and who “stabs in the back” and who is “not anyone that people
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should follow” See below and Appendix A.
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(the Statute having been found partially Overbroad by this very Court in Rynearson v. Ferguson C17-5531RBL
28 (WD WA 2019).

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 1
2 10. But because the media is bought and sold in this town only Jim Buchanan gets on the

3 front page of the Seattle Times, where WSLCB Director David Postman worked for
many years. These are indisputable facts. This is why we are starting that podcast.
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11. The theory of our case is in part based on an ongoing SB5052 Sec. 6 non-delegable duty to
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provide a fair and level playing field and the fact that well-connected lobbyists and friends of
6 WSLCB Board Member Ollie Garrett get people placed into their businesses against their will.
7 12. Paula Sardinas who is now trying to get our friend Christopher King, J.D. arrested for Stalking
charges for telling the truth about how certain hand-picked Blacks swoop in on shops in which
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they had no equity, then profit from all of it. See the licenses for Emerald Haze Appendix A.4
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13. This is why we still have no answers from the Board as to what happened with the Certified
10 Return Receipt letter we keep raising, ad nauseam.
11 14. Meanwhile King is being taken to task for discussing the operations of Paula Sardinas for
Defaming him and then lying about the defamation, KIRO-7 and the Renton Reporter and
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many others have published scathing stores in the past year (in the past 2 months even) about
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shady hidden and mandatory fees at Pupplyand that go to their lobbyist, i.e. FMS Global
14 Solutions at $10K/mo.
15 15. https://www.kiro7.com/news/jesse-jones/video-more-revelations-about-
national-pet-store-chain-based-washington/0d17062b-bd3c-4257-8efc-
16 d4fa07251cde/
17 VIDEO: More revelations about a national pet store chain based in Washington

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The same law firm with Attorneys David Otto and Benjamin York are the ones who sent Mr. King and me a
threatening Cease and Desist letter about Nate Miles, which we correctly ignored because my family is telling the
27 truth, with Affidavits now filed from three (3) different people now…. And none in opposition. So when they
couldn’t get us on that they ran off and got a bogus TPO against Mr. King. It is despicable conduct inimical to the
28 U..S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

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 1
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3 16. Mr. King, appropriately enough, has hosted a Facebook Page “Watchdog for Dog” ever since
he and his Partner had to sue a bad kennel who killed their dog after tricking Ben and Dawn at
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Seattle Barkery to recommend her services on a referral. He has a natural, pre-existing
5 interest and a certain Inalienable Right under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights as a
6 trained member of the Fourth Estate to do exactly what he is doing:

7 https://www.facebook.com/watchdogfordog
17. King, his Partner and Animal Rights Lawyer Adam Karp successfully litigated that case and
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King on his own defendant against yet another bogus ex parte Temporary Protective Order of
9 the same kind that Paula Sardinas just obtained against King after King even told her and her
10 lawyers “don’t try any ex parte games because I am here and available and certainly not

11 dangerous.”
18. The point is that Mr. King had never begun investigating Ms. Sardinas until she
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Defamed him…. And lied about it to his face: She telephoned and texted to Plaintiff
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Sami Saad:
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“BEiC (Black Excellence in Cannabis) v. Chris King. No one takes Chris seriously.
15 He’s a disbarred attorney. You all are following someone who is dangerous. This is
foolish and stupid. I could never condone any Black or Muslim brother engaged in
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this conduct. Now if you want to follow him that’s going to be on you. But don’t get
17 upset that I’m not condoning."

18 She then wrote to King:

19 “My comments regarding ‘dangerous people’ did not name you or any specific
person — therefore it did not pertain to you. There is no finding of fact." (App B)
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21 19. Notwithstanding the fact that King was suspended for one year for what his mentor noted
involved “racism, ignorance and reactionary politics” Sardinas is clearly referring to King in
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her communications so now she is a lobbyist for companies and people of ill repute and a
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bald-face liar.
24 20. Our detractors are just upset that we caught them backpedaling from what they said just 18
25 months ago when they were working with King and said the Governor Inslee “the massuh’
handing out chicken bones while white folks have been eating steak.” Note that King is in
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BEiC/Emerald Haze living room of Peter Manning in this video:
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16 21. But now that they (and they alone) managed to get 2 licenses and sell them for $2.1M
17 to a Chinese investor according to what Peter Manning told Plaintiff Shelton
18 everything is just great at the WSLCB and Mr. King (and the rest of us) are pretty

19 much Devil incarnate. That is complete rubbish and the Court can now see it clearly.
22. From Rynearson, supra:
20
Rynearson is an online author and activist who regularly writes online posts and
21 comments to the public related to civil liberties, including about police abuse and the
expansion of executive power in the wake of September 11. Rynearson's writings are
22 often critical—and sometimes harshly so—of local public figures and government
officials. These writings are well within the traditions of independent American political
23 discourse, and are intended both to raise the awareness of other citizens regarding the
civil-liberties issues that Rynearson writes about, and to hold civic and political leaders
24 accountable to the community through pointed criticism. This sort of expression is at the
very heart of political speech which the First Amendment most strongly protects.5
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This case becomes relevant again shortly in the Stare Decisis portion of this response, infra.

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 1 SUMMATION

2 We now have uncontroverted proof that a Principal at BEiC/Emerald Haze agrees with our
3 observations with Nate Miles being a FPBM and all of that conduct is in patent violation of the
ongoing no-delegable duties incumbent of SB50552. Moreover, it clearly implies unlawful
4
racketeering…… careful the company you keep. Plaintiffs all like their friends Novak and King. But as
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to the company that Paula Sardinas keeps, the Court would be well-advised to note what the KIRO-7
6 Anchor stated to Jessee:
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“That fee… is finally gone….” (Jesse)
8 “Stunning what you find, when you follow the money.” (Anchor)

9
Respectfully submitted,
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 1
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
2
I served a true and accurate copy of this Update was sent to:
3
Jessica Leiser, WSBA# 49349
4 Ghazal Sharifi, WSBA# 47750
Assistant City Attorney
5 Jessica.Leiser@seattle.gov
Ghazal.Sharifi@seattle.gov
6
7 Leah E. Harris, WSBA# 40815
Jonathan E. Pitel, WSBA# 47516
8 Assistant Attorney General
1125 Washington St. SE
9 Olympia, WA 988504-0110
Leah.harris@atg.wa.gov
10 Jonathan.pitel@atg.wa.gov

11 On this 13th Day of June, 2022

12
13 _________________________________
James Kevin Shelton
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